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Origin and history of spectrogram

spectrogram(n.)

"photograph of a spectrum," 1890, from spectro- + -gram.

also from 1890

Entries linking to spectrogram

-gram

noun word-forming element, "that which is written or marked," from Greek gramma "that which is drawn; a picture, a drawing; that which is written, a character, an alphabet letter, written letter, piece of writing;" in plural, "letters," also "papers, documents of any kind," also "learning," from stem of graphein "to draw or write" (see -graphy). Some words with it are from Greek compounds, others are modern formations. Alternative -gramme is a French form.

From telegram (1850s) the element was abstracted by 1959 in candygram, a proprietary name in U.S., and thereafter put to wide use as a second element in forming new commercial words, such as Gorillagram (1979), stripagram (1981), and, ultimately, Instagram (2010). The construction violates Greek grammar, as an adverb could not properly form part of a compound noun. An earlier instance was the World War II armed services slang latrinogram "latrine rumor, barracks gossip" (1944).

spectro-

word-forming element used since c. 1880 and meaning "of or by a spectroscope," also "of radiant energy," from combining form of spectrum (q.v.).

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    photo
    1860, a colloquial shortening of photograph. The verb is by 1865, from the noun. Photo-finish, of a race that ends with two or more competitors crossing the finishing line at nearly the same time (so a photograph taken at the finish line at the moment of crossing is the only way
    photograph
    "a picture obtained by any process of photography," 1839, coined by English polymath and photography pioneer Sir John Herschel (son of the astronomer) from photo- "light" + -graph "something written." It won out over other suggestions, such as photogene and heliograph. Photogram
    picture
    early 15c., pictur, pictoure, pittour, pectur, "the process or art of drawing or painting," a sense now obsolete; also "a visual or graphic representation of a person, scene, object, etc.," from Latin pictura "painting," from pictus, past participle of pingere "to make pictures,
    concord
    early 14c., "agreement between persons, union in opinions or sentiment, state of mutual friendship, amiability," from Old French concorde (12c.) "concord, harmony, agreement, treaty," from Latin concordia "agreement, union," from concors (genitive concordis) "of the same mind," l
    grace
    late 12c., "God's unmerited favor, love, or help," from Old French grace "pardon, divine grace, mercy; favor, thanks; elegance, virtue" (12c., Modern French grâce), from Latin gratia "favor, esteem, regard; pleasing quality, good will, gratitude" (source of Italian grazia, Spanis
    memory
    late 13c., "recollection (of someone or something); remembrance, awareness or consciousness (of someone or something)," also "fame, renown, reputation;" from Anglo-French memorie (Old French memoire, 11c., "mind, memory, remembrance; memorial, record") and directly from Latin mem
    dapper
    mid-15c., "elegant, neat, trim," from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German dapper "bold, strong, sturdy," later "quick, nimble," from Proto-Germanic *dapraz (source also of Old High German tapfar "heavy," German tapfer "brave"), perhaps with ironical shift of meaning, from PIE root
    guild
    also gild, early 13c., yilde (spelling later influenced by Old Norse gildi "guild, brotherhood"), a semantic fusion of Old English gegield "guild, brotherhood," and gield "service, offering; payment, tribute; compensation," from Proto-Germanic *geldja- "payment, contribution" (so
    resort
    late 14c., "that to which one has recourse for aid or assistance, source of comfort and solace," from Old French resort "resource, a help, an aid, a remedy," back-formation from resortir "to resort," literally "to go out again," from re- "again" (see re-) + sortir "go out" (see s
    ignominious
    early 15c., from Latin ignominiosus "disgraceful, shameful," from ignominia "disgrace, infamy, loss of a (good) name," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + nomen (genitive nominis) "name" (from PIE root *no-men- "name"). The Latin spelling perhaps influ

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